Tag: Badgers

Wisconsin women’s hockey unable to repeat as NCAA champs

Wisconsin women’s hockey unable to repeat as NCAA champs

The Wisconsin Badgers women’s hockey team was unable to repeat as national champions Sunday, losing to Ohio State 1-0 in the NCAA title game. In a rematch of last year’s championship matchup, the Buckeyes got the better of the Badgers this time around.

Knotted up at 0-0 through the first two periods, the both teams’ defenses were showcased throughout the contest with Ohio State freshman Joy Donne finally placing one in the net with 7:12 remaining in the third period.

The teams were as evenly matched as possible with Ohio State taking 28 shots and the Badgers with 26, while both teams had no penalties.

Although Wisconsin wasn’t able to repeat as national champions, they did appear in their 11th NCAA title game (seven-time winners) while being a part of their 15th Frozen Four, all of which have come since 2006.

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WATCH: Every angle of Wisconsin G A.J. Storr’s poster dunk vs Rutgers

A.J. Storr did it again last night

This is starting to become commonplace for Wisconsin guard A.J. Storr.

The Badgers high-flying guard threw down yet another poster dunk on Thursday night, this time in a 78-66 win over Rutgers.

Storr finished the contest with 19 points on 8/15 shooting and 3/6 from three, while also adding seven rebounds two assists and a steal.

Related: Wisconsin social media reacts to Badgers resilient win vs Rutgers

The future NBA draft pick was largely overshadowed by the surprising second-half explosion by Kamari McGee in his return to the lineup. But his solid night marked a 25th consecutive game of scoring in double figures, the longest streak for a Wisconsin Badger since Ethan Happ’s 42-game streak during the 2019 and 2020 seasons.

Storr’s highlight dunk still led the headlines. Thankfully we got numerous angles and viewpoints:

Then there’s this well-timed photo:

Credit: Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel-USA TODAY NETWORK

And this great reaction:

Mandatory Credit: Kayla Wolf-USA TODAY Sports

Wisconsin is back on the court Sunday afternoon in West Lafayette, Indiana against No. 3 Purdue. Greg Gard’s team will try to generate any momentum it can entering the Big Ten and NCAA Tournaments.

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Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes, and opinion. Follow Ben Kenney on X.

Purdue tops Illinois, clinches outright Big Ten title

This season became a huge missed opportunity for Wisconsin

The No. 3 Purdue Boilermakers (27-3, 16-3 Big Ten) edged No. 12 Illinois (22-8, 13-6 Big Ten) 77-71 Tuesday night, clinching the outright Big Ten regular season title for the second consecutive season.

Standout guard Braden Smith drilled the late dagger, pulling up and hitting a three-pointer to make it a two-possession game with 18 seconds remaining.

Though Illinois controlled the contest throughout, a dominant late surge by the Boilermakers proved too much for the Fighting Illini. The win yet again crowns Purdue as the Big Ten’s best, again setting the program up for a No. 1 seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament.

Related: Wisconsin faithful, college basketball world react to Howard Moore’s emotional return to Kohl Center

The Wisconsin-related story here: what a gigantic missed opportunity this season is becoming.

The Badgers entered February ranked No. 6 in the AP Poll and leading the Big Ten standings with an 8-1 record. Since that point, the team is 2-7 with losses to everyone from Purdue to last-place Michigan. The team has crashed down to earth after appearing to be a Final Four contender just five weeks ago.

Could Wisconsin have outlasted Purdue all season? Who knows. But the Badgers were setting the pace just 33 days ago. Now, Greg Gard’s team is down to fifth in the conference standings and no longer a double-bye team in the Big Ten Tournament.

Wisconsin led the Big Ten entering February. It will finish more than six games behind Purdue in the final standings. That’s startling context for Wisconsin’s fall.

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Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes, and opinion. Follow Ben Kenney on X.

Wisconsin social media reacts to AJ Storr’s dunk of the year, Badgers win over Maryland

Are the Badgers back?

After a period of struggles in the gauntlet that is the Big Ten conference, Wisconsin basketball got back to winning ways on Tuesday. The Badgers took down Maryland 74-70 in a game that saw AJ Storr throw down one of the dunks of the season.

The Badgers used balanced scoring to defeat the Terrapins, with four of the five Wisconsin starters finishing in double figures. The Terps put together a late run, but in the end the Badgers held them off with clutch buckets from Max Klesmit. Tyler Wahl finished with a game-high 18 points in the conference win that lifted Wisconsin to 10-6 in the Big Ten and 18-9 overall.

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Here is a look at reactions to the win and arguably the dunk of the season:

Wisconsin’s Steven Crowl showed his importance in win over Ohio State

Who is the biggest key to the success of this Wisconsin basketball team?

Wisconsin basketball finally got back in the win column last night with a 62-54 triumph over Ohio State.

The win moves the Badgers to 17-8 on the season and 9-5 in Big Ten play, now 2.5 games behind first-place Purdue.

The story from the victory over Ohio State, at least in my opinion, was the much-needed bounce-back performance from center Steven Crowl.

Related: Wisconsin basketball social media reacts to massive win over Ohio State

Crowl finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds and two assists on 7/14 shooting.

The good night comes after the veteran big man failed to reach double-digit points in each of the last four contests, including a forgettable one-point outing in the loss at Nebraska.

Crowl was noticeably more aggressive throughout the contest, finishing with his highest shot total in eight games and highest three-point attempt total of the season. I believe aggressiveness is a good thing in his case, especially when he’s rebounding well and shooting efficiently.

Many focus on the play of Tyler Wahl, Chucky Hepburn or A.J. Storr when talking about where the Badgers must improve. One of the biggest factors in the losing streak was the poor play of Crowl, making tonight’s performance against Ohio State that much more encouraging.

Keep in mind this trend:

  • January 26 vs Michigan State (81-66 win): 15 points, seven rebounds and three assists on 6/9 shooting
  • February 1 at Nebraska (80-72 loss): One point and 13 rebounds on 0/2 shooting and 0/2 from three
  • February 4 vs Purdue (75-69 loss): Eight points and five rebounds on 3/6 shooting
  • February 7 at Michigan (72-68 loss): Three points and four rebounds on 1/4 shooting
  • February 10 at Rutgers (78-56 loss): Seven points and 13 rebounds on 3/8 shooting
  • Last night vs Ohio State (62-54 win): 16 points, 10 rebounds and two assists on 7/14 shooting

When Crowl plays well, the Badgers often win. It definitely appears to be a causal relationship.

WATCH: Greg Gard previews Wisconsin’s upcoming road test

WATCH: Greg Gard previews Wisconsin’s upcoming road test

In what feels like a classic lookahead game to Sunday as the Badgers and Boilermakers meet in a top-ten matchup for the top of the Big Ten standings this weekend, Wisconsin begins the week by traveling to Nebraska.

Don’t look past the Huskers, who have a good chance of an NCAA Tournament berth as we head into the week. Nebraska sits at 5-5 in the Big Ten, and has been dominant at home. In fact, the Huskers have been a dominant 13-1 at home which includes a win over Purdue. Coach Greg Gard knows the Badgers have a tough test on Thursday night, and here is him previewing Nebraska earlier this week:

Wisconsin football offers a 2025 defensive lineman from Illinois

Wisconsin football offers a 2025 defensive lineman from Illinois

The Badgers added to their 2025 offer list late last week as they extended an offer to 2025 defensive lineman Brad Fitzgibbon. The Marist High School product will be visiting Wisconsin later this week, and now already has the official offer from the Badgers before he steps on campus.

Fitzgibbon is a 6-foot-3, 280-pound tackle who holds a number of offers from power programs. Those offers include Kansas State and Vanderbilt at this point in the process. Fitzgibbon mentioned it was an amazing visit and conversation with defensive line coach Greg Scruggs, who joined Wisconsin last season, that led to an offer from the Badgers:

Where Wisconsin basketball lands in latest USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll

The Badgers are flying up the rankings

Wisconsin is flying up the rankings as they sit at 8-1 in the Big Ten and 16-4 overall with a showdown looming on Sunday against Purdue.

The Badgers moved up four spots this week, launching all the way to No. 6. On Sunday, they will meet the No. 2 team in the nation as Purdue travels to the Kohl Center with first place in the Big Ten on the line.

UConn retained the top spot as they sit at 18-2 overall on the year. The top ten consists of only a pair of Big Ten teams in Wisconsin and Purdue.

Wisconsin, Duke, Marquette, and Iowa State were the major risers in this week’s rankings.

Wisconsin is up to a season-high ranking in the latest AP Poll

The Badgers are soaring up the rankings

We officially have a top-ten matchup at the Kohl Center this weekend. Wisconsin basketball is now up to No. 6 in the latest AP Poll, as they sit at 8-1 in the Big Ten on top of the conference standings. The Badgers are 16-4 overall.

After a Thursday trip to Lincoln, Nebraska Wisconsin returns home for a top-ten matchup against Purdue. Assuming both teams take care of business early in the week, the matchup will be for first place in the conference at this midway stage.

Wisconsin moved up seven spots this week, and UConn retained the top spot in the latest rankings.

Wisconsin football is one of the top programs in the nation when it comes to consistency

Wisconsin football is one of the top programs in the nation when it comes to consistency

The one thing Wisconsin football has not had over the past two decades of coaching changes, close wins and losses, and a revolving door of players? A losing season. Wisconsin is currently second in the country in terms of consecutive winning seasons as they have rattled off 22 straight winning seasons. The only school ahead of them is one you may not have guessed. The Boise State Broncos currently hold the longest winning season streak at 26 consecutive years without a losing record.

Wisconsin is ahead of notable names such as SEC dynasties in Georgia and Alabama, Big Ten rivals Ohio State and Iowa, and a number of other big-name programs: